Energy Drinks Lead to More ER Visits

[Courtesy of Rodale News] Last week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a report finding that emergency room visits associated with the consumption of energy drinks had increased 1,000 percent between 2005 and 2009. The drinks, which sometimes contain more than five times the caffeine of a cup of coffee, sent a total of 1,128 people to ERs in 2005, and by 2009, that number had risen to 13,114, with the highest number (16,055 visits) occurring in 2008.

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Most of the visits, 77 percent, were made by younger people between the ages of 18 and 39, nearly two-thirds of whom were men. In 56 percent of cases, the visits involved the energy drinks themselves, but in the remaining 44 percent, the energy drinks were combined with other substances such as alcohol or drugs. Men were more likely than women to combine the drinks with alcohol or illicit drugs, while women were more likely to drink them in combination with pharmaceuticals such as narcotic painkillers, stimulants like Ritalin, or anxiety medications.

Although caffeine has been found to have some beneficial aspects—it soothes exercise-induced muscle soreness, for one—too much can trigger heart arrhythmia, dehydration, and other serious medical conditions, while also leading to dependency and withdrawal. Doctors can’t seem to agree whether there’s a “safe” level of caffeine, but, according to SAMHSA, 100 to 200 milligrams (mg) is considered a decent moderate intake per day. That’s equal to between one and two cups of coffee.

Energy drinks contain from as little as 75 mg to as much as 505 mg per serving. The caffeine in the latter is equivalent to drinking thirteen colas in one shot. Furthermore, over-the-counter stimulants that contain 100 mg of caffeine, such as NoDoz pills, are required to carry a warning label, but energy drinks are not. Then there’s the—horribly misguided—belief that combining energy drinks with alcohol offsets the effects of alcohol. But drinking a cocktail made with Red Bull and vodka makes it just as difficult to drive or make sound judgments as drinking straight vodka.

Rather than take a risk with some iffy energy drink, take these steps when you’re getting tired.

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• Take steps. It may seem counterintuitive when you’re feeling flagged, but getting up and walking briskly for as little as 10 minutes can clear your head and provide you an energy surge. If it’s hard to get away from your desk or workstation, schedule a walk-and-talk with a colleague or two so you can be productive while on the move. Get regular exercise, too. It boosts certain fatigue-fighting brain chemicals that pep you up.

• Eat for energy. Food is fuel, and the right kind will keep you going (while the wrong kind can set you up for a crash). See our Eat for All-Day Energy for suggestions.

• Make sure you sleep. Lack of sleep is practically an epidemic these days, and a common reason for daytime fatigue. And rather than grab a bottle of pills to unwind, you can get a better night’s sleep by employing “sleep skills,” such as exercising (at the right time) and maintaining a nightly bedtime ritual.

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